Justice League of America: Killer Frost Rebirth #1 Review

Justice League of America: Killer Frost Rebirth #1

Writers:  Steve Orlando and Jody Houser
Artist:  Mirka Andolfo
Colorist:  Arif Prianto
Letterer:  Clayton Cowles
Publisher:  DC Comics

A review by John Dubrawa

You wouldn’t exactly call Killer Frost a household name. Even among other cold-based characters, her awareness in the public eye sits well below notable characters like Iceman or Mr. Freeze. However, thanks in large part to The Flash TV show, Dr. Katlin Snow has seen more prominence as of late, and with the Justice League of America comic series from DC set to begin next month, that exposure to mainstream audiences is sure to grow even more. In the meantime, there’s this insanely-titled Justice League of America: Killer Frost Rebirth #1, a crash-course one-shot that mostly works as a primer for anyone hotly anticipating that new JLA series. It’s also, unfortunately, not much more than that. 

Co-writers Steve Orlando and Jody Houser find a Killer Frost at a crossroads in her villainous career. She wants to transition from Belle Reve to wherever it is the new JLA operate out of, but there’s the slight problem of her needing to feed off the life force of others in order to survive. It’s a compelling concept that unfortunately gets marred with some very repetitive internal monologuing that never takes the character much further than her declaring, “I’m not a killer” over and over again. It quickly becomes apparent that the goal of this book is less about fleshing out Frost as a character and more about getting her to the starting point of JLA with her other compatriots (who are all receiving similar Rebirth one-shots). Maybe within the pages of JLA, Orlando can explore the complexities of Frost’s character more, because this issue is really founded on a great idea that just isn’t executed fully.

What does unequivocally work in this issue, however, is Mirka Andoflo’s stunning artwork and Arif Prianto’s beautiful colors. Andoflo’s pencils are crisp and clean, rendering Killer Frost with pseudo-punk look that includes a shaved head and attitude to match. She’s also menacing when she needs to be, and Prianto’s mostly blue hues in the color palette perfectly match Frost’s mood with darker shades taking precedence in the character’s brooding scenes. I know Andoflo’s work primarily from DC Bombshells but there she can get lost among all the tremendous artists that collaborate on that book. Here, however, she truly shines and I hope she finds herself working on a regular ongoing in the future. Drawing more badass females. 

The Verdict
Check It Out! If you’re already looking forward for DC’s relaunched JLA comic, this book will serve as an adequate holdover until the series begins properly next month. It serves as a basic crash-course for Killer Frost and demonstrates a side to the character that I found compelling. Unfortunately that idea isn’t fully realized here, so those that had no interest in JLA before won’t exactly be swayed by this one-shot, even if the artwork inside is spectacular.